Insulator-clamp.



W. S LEE.

INSULATOR CLAMP.

APPLICATION FILED .IULY 8,1913.

1,140,603; Patented May 25, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

lfl I 11 lhilllllll UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM S. LEE, 0F CHARLOTTE, CABQLINA.

IIISULATUB-CLAMP.

masses.

Application filed July 8, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, l/VILLIAM S. LEE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Charlotte, in the county of Mecklenburg and State of North Carolina, have inventednew and useful Improvements in Insulator- Glamps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in a device for clamping electric conducting wires to insulators, and has for its object to provide a strong simple device for the purpose, which may be easily secured in place under adverse conditions, said device being made of as few different parts as possible consistent with the requirements, and .with the least number of separate fastening members.

The invention further consists in forming the clamp of a plurality of sections each section being substantially a duplicate oil the other section or sections, and each provided with an integral member adapted to engage an integral complemental member on the adjoining section when said like sections are brought together to engage between them the conducting wire, said members forming a fastening means for the clamp sections above said wire. Removable fastening means below the conductor serve the double purpose of securing said conductor to the clamp and the clamp to the insulator.

7 Furthermore, the connected members above the conductor prevent the latter being lifted or removed in any manner from the clamp, and also prevent lateral strain on the conductor bending or breaking the parts of the clamp that grip the wire.

Another object of the invention is direct ed to a shield for the conductor that sur-.

rounds or partly surrounds the same, and is retained in position thereon by the clamp, said shield extending a suitable distance along the conducting wire on each side of the clamp to prevent destructive arcing hetween the conductor and the insulator support or other adjacent part.

/Vith these and other objects in view, the invention consists of the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafterdescribed and pointed out in the appended claims, er- I Specification of Letters latent.

Patented May 25, 1915.

Serial l lo. 377,867.-

of the same. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the clamp viewed at a right angle to Fig. 1. Fig. l is perspective view of the invention. Fig. 5 is an elevation of a modified form of the clamp.

lnthe drawings 10 indicates an insulator of any approved type, to'the top of which is secured a clamp 11 for holding an electric conductor or transmission wire 12. In the present instance the clamp 11. is formed of form of a lug or gripping member 14. A

gripping or extension 15 projects from the other end of each section in a manner similar to the lugs i l. The lugs or members 14, 15 of each section lie in a plane and at their lower ends lie close to the adjacent complemental members 15, 14 of the other clamp when sa1d clamp is in position on the menlator. The upper ends of the members 14,

15 are separated from each other sutliciently far to form a socket or yoke 16 in which the conductor 12 is supported and clamped. In the upper end of each lug or member 1% is slot 17 with which removahly engages a iooleshaped end 18 formed on the end of a transverse or horizontally extending plate 19 projecting from the upper end of the lug or member 15. iIoles are bored through the members i i, 15, to receive a bolt 20, by means of which the clamp sections are firmly secured together and the conductor gripped between the spaced upper ends of said memhers. From the above description it will be evident that each clamp section when constructed as described presents dissimilar ends.

The sections 13 of the clamp are as previously stated, substantially alike, and any two may he connected together to form a complete clamp. Edy this means no trouble is experienced when assembling the clamp by unintentionally having two members which do not fit together as would he the case were the sections dissimilar.

To assemble the clamp the hoolcshaped ends 18 are passed through the slots 17 and the clamp folded down over the conductor 12. This interlocks thev clamp sections and prevents their disconnection by a lateral movement from each other at the interlocked point. It is to he noted that the 13 are drawn together until the upper ends 21, 22, of the lugs or members grip the conductor, the semi-circular portions of the clamp having in the meantime been placed around the top of the insulator. The bolts 20 are now inserted in the openings in the lugs 14, 15, and the nuts 23 screwed tight.

The tightening of these nuts" presses the clamp sections about the top of the insulator 1O and'the members 14, 15 against the conductor, the connection at the upper ends of these members prevents them spreading, and at the same time tends to increase the clamping action of the members on the conductor so that the latter is held tightly in the clamp. The plates 19 which extend between the members l4, l5 besides securing the upper ends of said memberstogether also prevent the conductor being lifted or removed from the clamp.

Much trouble has been experienced by the formation of arcs between the conducting wire and the insulator support or other object in the neighborhood thereof, particularly when the conductors are carrying currents of high tension. These arcs tend to destroy the conductor by forming holes or pits therein, honeycombing the same and weakening the tension thereof, thus causing it to break, and causing the loss at times of along stretch of expensivewire. To overcome" this fault a shield is provided which protects the conductor from any are that may be formed. This shield comprises a strip ofsuitable material arranged so that any are formed near the insulator will pass from the shield and not directly from the conductor; the shield is .preferably arranged surrounding or partly surrounding the conductor and extending along the same on each side of the insulator a suitable distance. In the present instance the shield 24 is made of a strip of metal different from the conductor bent into U-form, open at the top and extending wholly around the underside of the conductor as clearly shown in Fig. 3, and up above the conductor for a short distance, the upper extending portions lying in parallel planes. The shield lies between the conductor and the lugs or members 14, 15, and is secured to the conductor by said members at the same time the clamp 11 is fixed to the insulator. The length of the shield 24 or the distance it extends along the wire from the insulator on each side is governed by the size of the insulator and the burned by the current instead of the conductor. There being no strain or tension on the shield the latter will last much longer under the destructive influences of the arcs formed than would the conductor, and furthermore, they may be replaced at a fraction of the cost of the conductor wire. The shield 24 is preferably cut away at 25 Where it is grippedby the clamp 11 to permit the plates 19 of the lugs or members 15 passing over said shield.

As a modification of the connection between the lugs or members 14, 15, above the wire, the plates 19 with their hooked ends 18 engaging the slots 17 in complemental members maybe omit-ted, and perforations made in the upper ends of said members for a bolt 26, see Fig. 5, which is passedthrough said perforations and secured by a nut 27. If desired a filling block 28 may be inserted between the upper ends of the members 14, 15, or between the upstanding portions of the shield 24, through which block the bolt 26 extends.

What I claim is 1. An insulator. clamp comprising "a pair of like separable sections adapted to grip a conductor and embrace an insulator, separable integral connecting means connecting said sections on one side of said conductor, and removable connecting means on the other side. p

2. An insulator clamp comprising a pair of like separable sections adapted to grip a conductor and embrace an insulator, in-

.tegral lugs on the ends of said sections provided with inter-engaging connecting means connecting sald sectlons, and removable connecting means between saidse'ctions for securing them together.

3. An insulator clamp comprising a pair of like separable sections adapted to grip a conductor and embrace an insulator, an extension on one end of each section provided with a hook-ended projection, an extension on the other end of each section having means for engaging said hook-ended projection, and removable connecting means between the complemental extensions of each section.

4. An insulator clamp comprising a pair of like separable sections, each having an integral conductor gripping extension on one end connected on one side of the conductor to a complemental extension on the other-section, and removable securing means between the sections on the other side of the conductor for fastening said gripping extensions firmly to the conductor and the clamp sections together upon an insulator. 5. An insulator clamp comprising a pair of like separable sections, each having an integral conductor gripping extension with in a complemental member on the other section, and removable securing means between said sections for fastening said gripping extension firmly to the conductor and attaching the clamp sections together upon an insulator.

6. An insulator clamp comprising a pair I of like separable sections, from the ends of which project conductor gripping extensions, one of said extensions on each section having engaging means for engaging the complemental member on the other section to lock said engaging means together, and removable connecting means between the sections. v

7. An insulator clamp comprising a pair of like separable sections, from the ends of which project conductor gripping extensions, one of said extensions on each section having a laterally projecting plate terminating in a hook for engaging a slot in the complemental extension on the other section, and removable connecting means between the sections.

8. A clamp for connecting an insulator to a conductor consisting of a clamp-section having means for engaging the conductor and the insulator, said clamp-section having dissimilar ends, anda second clamp-section like the first named clamp-section, said clamp sections having integral means at their ends for interlocking said clamp sections when held in a reversed position with respect to each other, and means for draw ing said clamp-sections together.

9. A clamp for attaching an insulator to a conductor, consisting of a pair of clampsections, having means for engaging the insulator and the conductor, said clamp-sections having extensions of the same mechanical shape having integral means for interlocking said clamp sections and preventing a lateral movement of said sections at the interlocked point, and means for drawing said clamp sections together.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

WILLIAM S. LEE. Witnesses:

- L. C. CARMIOHAEL, B. HUTGHISON. 

